U.S., NATO Tentatively OK Air Cover for 7,500 U.N. Peacekeepers in Bosnia

The United States and its NATO allies tentatively approved a plan Wednesday to provide air cover for about 7,500 U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Warplanes from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and France began gathering at Italian air bases to prepare for the operation, which could begin as early as July 22. About 60 planes are to take part.

It would mark the first time that NATO planes have been used to protect peacekeepers, although NATO aircraft have enforced a “no-fly” zone over Bosnia since April.

Ambassadors from the 16 nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to the plans but must await final approval from officials back home.

The action would support a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing support for the 7,500 U.N. Protection Force troops that are to patrol the so-called safe areas the United Nations has designated in Bosnia. The six areas are populated mostly by Muslims.

Under the plan, any air strikes by allied planes would have to be authorized by the United Nations.

In Sarajevo, one of the designated safe areas, Sadako Ogata, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, visited the Bosnian capital Wednesday at one of its worst moments in a 16-month siege and said that a severe shortage of funds jeopardizes relief for the city.

Ogata sent envoy Nicholas Morris to the Bosnian Serbs’ self-declared capital of Pale to demand that they lift a blockade of diesel fuel waiting at Sarajevo airport for delivery into the city.

Morris was given a letter granting permission for delivery, which could begin today, said U.N. refugee agency spokesman Peter Kessler.

Despite her condemnation of obstructions, Ogata refused to endorse the use of force by U.N. peacekeepers to ensure delivery of humanitarian aid.

“What happens afterward?” she asked at a news conference. “An impulsive act at one point may be a detriment to the 100 convoys that follow.”

Ogata plans to convene a meeting Friday in Geneva to update donor countries and appeal for money. It is estimated an additional $200 million is needed to meet “bare-bones” requirements for the rest of the year.